


Rexit

by Cerdic519



Series: The British Revolution [10]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: 17th Century, Army, Battle, Beheading, Berkshire, Bigotry & Prejudice, Caring, England (Country), English Civil War, Exhaustion, F/M, Friendship, Gay Sex, Hampshire, Inheritance, London, Love, M/M, Nobility, Oxfordshire, Parliament (UK), Politics, Religion, Royalty, Scheming, Scotland, Secrets, Servants, Stucky - Freeform, Thirty Years War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26650216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerdic519/pseuds/Cerdic519
Summary: January 1648 to January 1649.The king makes a final attempt to overcome his enemies but is defeated, and pays for his intriguing with his life – but not before he has an encounter with two men from Oxfordshire. Then he is off to London for the trial, the sentence – and the executioner's axe!
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, minor Quicksilver/Bruce Banner, minor Thor/OMC
Series: The British Revolution [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809640
Kudos: 4





	1. Contents

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Algolarcturus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Algolarcturus/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contents page.

A.D. 1648 (continued)  
_127\. An Act Against Acting_  
_128\. Straw Men_  
_129\. Dockside Duke_  
_130\. Risings And Sinkings_  
_131\. Firefighting_  
_132\. Preston And Parleys_  
_133\. There's A War On!_  
_134\. A Tighter Squeeze_  
_135\. Purges And Prayers_  
_136\. A Saxon Farewell_

A.D. 1649  
_137\. Cruel Necessity_

MDCXLVIII-MDCLIX


	2. An Act Against Acting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> January-February 1648.   
> There is some 'friendly' persuasion that helps certain important people reach the 'correct' decision (if they know what is good for them!). Jamie's homeland remains divided over the Engagement, parliament decides that all actors should be flogged, and anyone caught watching them fined.

**January 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The heavy snows had continued over the definitely not at all celebrated Yuletide, which had been good as it had meant that no soldiers could come up and witness the definitely not a Christmas celebration meals that Stephen, Jamie, Fraser and Chatton were having. In a great stroke of luck Thunor had informed Edward that her future husband would be celebrating the festive season with her and her family, and the boy had trudged off looking like a condemned man. Which, Stephen supposed, he rather was.

Not as condemned as his guardian though, whose Winter Soldier had made his own Twelve Days of Christmas memorable to say the least. Luckily all the Hall staff lived in either Stalwarton or Hampton, but even so Stephen had limited their work at the Hall to between dinner and supper – which was great as it allowed four horny men to be naked for a large part of the day, and allowed Jamie to take his lover whenever he wanted. Which, it turned out, was pretty much all the damn time!

“Remember, Eddie is coming back tomorrow”, Jamie said abstractedly as he continued to fuck away inside his lover. “And he has his eighteenth birthday the end of next week.”

Stephen nodded. Or his head may have jerked up and down because of his latest thorough fucking. Across the room from him an even more broken Fraser lay broken and snoring gently on the blanket by the fire, Chatton toying lovingly with his lover's huge body as he slept.

“He is nearly sixty so he can be excused not having the stamina of the rest of us”, Jamie teased, again showing his annoying ability to read his lover like a book. “Incredibly Diana managed to get a letter through to us; even an English winter cannot stop her! The Commons has voted through something called the Vote of No Addresses saying they will have no more dealings with this king, but the Lords are refusing to consider it.”

The nobleman actually had to make an effort to form the words for his reply. Still, that did not entitle some smug bastard to smirk like that!

“More fool them”, he said. “They will come round one way or another.”

“Like poor Fraser over there!” Jamie grinned. “Only twenty-four hours more of naked bliss. I had better make the most of it!”

And with that he began to work away even harder inside his lover. Stephen moaned but just went with it. Like he had any choice!

MDCXLVIII

All right, he had the choice and he chose sex with his well-hung Winter Soldier! Every damn time!

MDCXLVIII

**January 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Although legally it was at the age of twenty-one that a boy became a man, what with the plague and other dangers that a seventeenth century child had to face, they did come into a whole set of rights at the age of eighteen. Normally this was marked by their receiving some sort of gift or buying themselves something to mark the occasion but, as Edward glumly pointed out, “Thunor has told me not to'. Stephen would have remarked on how whipped the young fellow was but some bastard had that irritating habit of agreeing with him rather too fervently. And smirking while he did it!

Stephen was however impressed by the young man's decision to instead buy his future wife a small necklace that he knew she had wanted. He seemed resigned to his destiny, and indeed his guardian hoped that they would indeed marry when she came of age five years hence and have several children so that he could safely inherit the estate. Although what sort of country England would be by then, who knew?

At least the snow had largely melted across southern England, which meant that news could more easily get through from London. Even if neither man was quite sure what to make of the latest development.

“Tax protestors?” Jamie said, frowning.

“The Commons has been trying to woo the Army back on side by suggesting they will deal with back pay after all”, Stephen said as he read the letter. “But that has angered many in the capital who see only that the war is over yet they are still paying for it.”

“People are stupid like that”, Jamie sighed. “So many seem to think that once the fighting stops, everything must somehow reset to normal just like that. They do not seem to understand that the damage caused to an area by war, even if it is rarely along the lines of Magdeburg, is very often a Birmingham or Bolton from which it takes a long time to recover. And the last thing that people struggling to make ends meet want to hear about is another set of taxes.”

“I do not like the idea”, Stephen said, “but if we are going to fund a large Navy and a near-permanent Army then we need a lot more money coming in that we have now. Of course the more taxes that are collected the more corruption there will be, but then that is human nature for you.”

“I know people”, Jamie said. “They will be all in favour of that – provided that someone else pays the taxes! And you can only tax the rich so much before they tire of it and start hiding their money, which means you tax those lower down, and lower. And so it goes.”

“Fairfax will not be happy at these people opposing the taxes to pay his men”, Stephen said, “especially given how far they are in arrears. Nearly a year for some of the men, I heard. I wonder what he will do about it?”

MDCXLVIII

**January 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The answer to that question came a few days later when the next letter from London arrived. It was from Stephen's cousin and contained a quite graphic suggestion as to what Vale would do to Jamie if he did not stop giving Diana even more ideas. Judging from the shaky handwriting Stephen could see that his lover had been his usual bad self, and sighed as he looked at him.

“What?” Jamie said with what was obviously fake innocence. “Diana just asked for a few hints, so I suggested some things from our first Special Boxox. Val should consider himself lucky that I stopped there.”

That was arguably true, the nobleman supposed, as he himself always needed considerable recovery time after the other two boxes came out. But his lover was still a bastard of the first order!

“Well, the Lords have voted through the Vote of No Addresses”, he said, still eyeing the soldier disapprovingly. “Or at least a small fraction of them have; many stayed away because the soldiers that Fairfax sent in to deal with the tax protestors and to 'protect' parliament just happened to stay around. With their weapons.”

“And people say that the man has no political sense!” Jamie chuckled. “Very subtle yet it got the point across. The Army will find a way to enforce its will, one way or another.”

“Have you heard anything from Scotland about their dealings with the king?” Stephen asked.

His lover shook his head.

“The snows are still heavy up there”, he said, “and they will not call the Estates until the middle of next month. They cannot meet until March even if the roads are clear, though from what I hear the mood is largely in favour of the king. I am surprised that Argyll has been brought on side, but I suppose every man has his price.”

“Largely in favour?” Stephen queried.

“His refusal to take the Covenant will weaken any army raised for him”, Jamie said. “You know how strong my countrymen are on faith; many will refuse to serve because of that. I can only hope the lives lost will be few before it all ends, one way or another.”

Stephen nodded.

“One way or another”, he echoed.

MDCXLVIII

**February 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen could not but help roll his eyes at his latest letter from London.

“What is it?” Jamie asked.

“We are in the middle of a constitutional crisis”, the nobleman said, “so what has parliament deemed to be the most important issue that needs their immediate attention? They have said that those flouting the ban on plays are to be more severely punished! Actors will be flogged¹ and those who turn up to watch them will be heavily fined. Honestly!”

“Yes, it is not as if the country is on the brink of another civil war and the army has just all but taken over running the country”, Jamie snarked. “Oh wait – both those things are true. To think you were once a member of that place.”

“At least poor Captain Quicksilver is away from it all for the moment, as Cromwell needs him in the army”, Stephen said. “Although my in-law does not seem to understand why confiscating the people's Christmas dinners and telling them they cannot celebrate one of their few holidays is so resented.”

“He is very much a Puritan yet still a conservative”, Jamie said, “which is probably why Lilburne fell out with him in the end.”

“Lilburne could fall out with his own shadow!” Stephen snorted. “When he does die and go to heaven, it will probably be with a whole list of questions for the Good Lord demanding that He justify his actions in this contention.”

“And a list of changes he wants made up there!” Jamie chuckled.

“By the by, Cromwell did have some other news for me that was rather more cheering”, Stephen said, “and from his tone I rather suspect that he knew that. You know how he is generally fair when it comes to dealing with Royalist malignants and delinquents?”

“Yes?” his lover said.

“A local landowner known to us approached him and positively _demanded_ that the country recompense him for his recent travails”, Stephen smiled. “My normally helpful in-law was forced to reluctantly tell this Lord Grayland that he would be unable to help him; indeed he told me that he felt his sword-hand itching in the pest's presence.”

“A pity he did not succumb to the need for some weapons practice, then!” Jamie snorted.

Stephen smiled at that.

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) An utterly horrible idea. I mean, looking at today's over-politicized, self-important, talentless and forever grandstanding 'luvvies', who would possibly ever want to flog them? Answers in less than one hundred thousand words._


	3. Straw Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> February-March 1648.   
> The king tries but fails to escape his island prison. Stephen's replacement in parliament is uneasy about someone staring at him, and there is a familial celebration as well as some happy news about a future event. People in London are angry and, ominously, one army commander in the furthest reach of Wales declares for the king. Still, as long as it is only one.....

**February 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

During his time in the army James Buchanan had learned a lot about human nature, little if any of it pleasant. One of the phrases he always remembered was from a soldier from the Far North of Scotland he had served alongside for a time, and who told him that up in Caithness they had a saying that 'a single straw being blown about often presaged a big storm coming through, and to batten down the hatches accordingly.

Jamie had often thought that that applied to the world of politics, in that small things had the potential to grow into much bigger ones. The ousting of the Earl of Menteith a decade and a half ago had enabled the Balmerino petition, which had led in turn to the Bishops's Wars and the current mess in England. So when his lover told him of a seemingly insignificant development from his latest London letter, the soldier was on his guard at once.

“John Poyer?” he asked.

“Yes”, Stephen said. “He holds Pembroke Castle and is refusing to disband his forces until they have been paid.”

The soldier frowned.

“That is bad”, he said. “Or it has the potential to be.”

“Why?” Stephen asked. “It is but one castle, surely?”

“I know Poyer”, Jamie said. “Incredibly rich before the war, he has virtually bankrupted himself in support of our cause. Now to be denied the few pennies we owe him – the Army could hardly have chosen a worse enemy.”

Stephen was surprised.

“But if he is so poor now, surely there is little that he can do?” he said.

“I have seen this tactic before”, his lover said. “If one is taking on a superior enemy, one way to deal is to cause revolts in areas under their control. The more widespread and far-flung, the better. That was one of Sweden's strategies when they entered the German wars; encourage revolts among those unhappy with Imperial rule and this weaken the forces that could be sent against their own armies. You know how remote Pembrokeshire is; if the Army has to send men there to deal with Poyer, they will be out of England for weeks. Then there is the simmering pro-Christmas anger in Kent and the East Country, the king's traditional support in distant Cornwall – Fairfax could find even his New Model Army seriously overstretched if he is not careful.”

MDCXLVIII

**March 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Well, the situation in Scotland worked out as you said”, Stephen told his lover. “The Estates have voted the king an army but the Kirk is having nothing to do with it.”

“It depends on what that nothing is”, Jamie said. “They could either refuse to support it or come out in full opposition against it. The difference would be many thousands of men disinclined to sign up, and for the king that could be the difference between success and failure.”

“You surely do not think such an army could invade England, defeat the New Model Army and take London?” Stephen asked, surprised.

“Taking London might not be so difficult with the city having been alienated by the Army of late”, Jamie said sagely. “And if Fairfax has to send men hither and yon to deal with Royalist uprisings, there may not be enough men left to deal with the invaders. I do not know if the king or his supporters are behind this refusal of Poyer to disband but they will certainly be trying to take advantage of it. Parliament should have sent him his money and have had done with it.”

“Unless they want the Army to fail?” Stephen suggested with a sly smile.

“Are you saying that a politician could be so devious and duplicitous?” Jamie asked in mock horror. “Heaven forfend! What _is_ the world coming to?”

Stephen chuckled at that.

MDCXLVIII

**March 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The latest news from the northern kingdom had had both men staring at each other in disbelief.

“Scotland wants to be taken seriously as a nation of Europe”, Jamie said incredulously. “Then at the first sign of an argument, they all start fighting duels with each other 'as a matter of honour'. They want their heads knocking together!”

“I thought you once said that soldiers did that from time to time?” Stephen reminded him.

“We are common kerns who do not know better”, Jamie countered. “These are supposed to be our lords and masters, then they go and behave like spoilt children who are batting at each other because they could not have what they wanted.”

“True”, Stephen agreed.

“Whereas I can usually have what I want and when I want it”, Jamie grinned, looking hungrily at his lover.

The nobleman gulped.

“Just sadly not now”, the soldier sighed. “Your son is just arrived, and for some reason he thinks I am a bad influence on you. Perhaps I need to go into more detail when he is here as to just how bad I can be when....”

Stephen gave him such a look!

MDCXLVIII

“I have good news”, Luke beamed. “Anne is expecting again, some time in September.”

“You dog, you!” Jamie said. “That will make poor Ste a grandfather four times over.”

His lover glared at him.

“Do not worry, father”, Luke said comfortingly. “I know what he is like.”

“As I know what your father is like”, Jamie agreed, “especially when I have him lying there right on the end of....”

This time he was on the receiving end of two murderous looks. He chuckled but shut up.

“Moving swiftly on”, Luke said frostily, “I do not know if you have heard this yet, but Colonel Hammond has asked to be removed from his post looking after the king.”

“Either the expense or the stress”, Jamie said. “Likely both; he knows that the king is bound to try to escape again sooner or later, and if he did by some chance succeed then it might well be his head on the block to make up for it.”

“Rumour is that Hammond fears the king's head could be on the block”, Luke said. “He is no Royalist but he does not wish to be part of any such undertaking, nor would any right-thinking man.”

“There are a lot of men in the Army who would consider themselves right-thinking”, Stephen said, “and who might undertake such an act. Especially if the king does, in their eyes, defy God's judgement and succeed in restarting this war. It would I suppose be the ultimate irony that a king who so firmly believes that he is God's representative on Earth was finished off by men who believed pretty much the same!”

MDCXLVIII

**March 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“You were right about the king”, Stephen told Jamie a few days later. “He did try to escape from Carisbrooke a few days ago, but was caught. Hammond was watchful, thankfully.”

Jamie nodded as he read the letter from London.

“Problems?” Stephen asked. 

“Very much so”, Jamie said gravely. “Poyer has declared for the king, and worse, the reports say that he has considerable support in Pembrokeshire. Fairfax clearly considers it serious; he is sending Cromwell in person, and your in-law is dispatching Captain Quicksilver to ride ahead. He will be calling in here in about a week's time.”

“Again, all for want of a few pennies”, Stephen sighed. “If only parliament had sorted Poyer's moneys out then he would have had no reason to rebel, or at least a lot less support. But his men will think that they have little to lose since their own side clearly expects them to fight for nothing.”

“I suppose they thought it might tempt others to try the same trick to get their moneys as well, though”, Jamie said. “As we have both said before, parliament should just have taxed everyone what was necessary and paid off the Army when it had the chance.”

“A politician opening their own wallet”, Jamie mused, looking out of the window. “No, I am afraid to inform you that the sky is still blue!”

Stephen rolled his eyes at him for that.

MDCXLVIII

**March 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Captain Quicksilver arrived just before the end of the month looking unusually grave, Stephen thought.

“I was glad to get away from London if truth be told”, the young man said. “The mood there is hostile to us fighting men; yesterday was the anniversary of the king's accession to the throne and there were widespread celebrations across the city.”

“To be fair, the army has done as little as the king once did to win over the citizens of the place”, Stephen said. “The Christmas crackdown was, we all know, badly received again. Is Cromwell using you as a scout, may we ask?”

“Yes”, the young captain said. “He wants reports of the mood of the men along his route; I shall be doing a lot of writing, it seems.”

“Will you be staying the night here?” Jamie asked. “It is not far from sunset.”

“That would be appreciated”, the soldier smiled. “I do not like sleeping out in some lonely barn especially with the mood of the countryside just now; one never knows when one might wake up with a knife to one's throat. I even got one unfriendly look on the way in.”

Stephen was surprised at that.

“Which way did you come?” he asked. “Or was that way back at King's Linton?”

“I met some young farm-hand on the road down here from the junction”, the captain said. “Huge muscular fellow, dark-haired and tattered clothing with the broadest shoulders I have ever seen on a man. He looked at me very oddly. I doubt that he could have done much as I was on my horse, but I was still glad that I had my dagger.”

“Young Banner”, Stephen said. “He is all right, a bit of an airhead at times but a hard worker. I know that he resents his elder brother who will be smith some day; the fellow never misses a chance to remind him of that. I will have the servants make your room up, sir.”

“Thank you, sir”, his visitor said.

MDCXLVIII


	4. Dockside Duke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April-May 1648.   
> The renewed fighting claims an early casualty which in turn results in someone returning unexpectedly to Stalwarton. A young man dresses up as a woman and slips down to the docks for.... ahem, 'reasons'. Jamie marks his and his lover's birthday week with a surprise shipment from London, and Edward Stark makes a speech at his chief steward's retirement.

**April 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen winced as he read his latest letter.

“More bad news from London?” Jamie asked. “Or was I a bit too 'Thorough' with you last night?”

The nobleman rolled his eyes at his lover.

“You are not that good!” he said reprovingly. “No, this is from poor Captain Quicksilver. He reported to Gloucester and was sent on with some men to Brecon in order to confirm rumours of an uprising there. He ran into a group of rebels; luckily he was not that far ahead of his colleagues and was able to fight his way back to them, although he says that he has been injured and is being sent back to London.”

Both men knew what that meant. Injured soldiers could expect very little in the way of funds with the country in such a mess, and would have to rely on what their colleagues could extract from an unwilling populace. As a politician the captain was in a better position that most, but of course that was an unpaid job.

“You should have him here”, Jamie said. “I remember your saying he does not have any immediate family except his father, who was bitterly against his going into the army. I know that the fellow was intent on disinheriting him but he also loathes his younger brother who was next in line to his lands, so he has not.”

“Yes, he could have Fraser's and Chatton's place now they have moved out of it”, Stephen said. “Or as good as; young Banner is living there for the moment but I did tell him that that was only while we were looking for a new steward. And also because moving him in there seemed wise.”

It had emerged, unluckily on the same day as news of another Irish massacre, that the Banner family had Irish roots. That and the ongoing feud between the two eldest sons had prompted Stephen to advise Edward to move the younger son, Bruce, into Fraser's and Chatton's old cottage. It was a clear sign of lordly favour which those who might otherwise have made a fuss about the family's Irishness would either heed, or would find out the hard way was very firmly meant.

“It is a pity that the boy's father refused to let him be educated, otherwise he himself might have sufficed for the post”, Jamie said. “But then families are like that.”

“True”, Stephen agreed.

MDCXLVIII

**April 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen shook his head as he read his latest letter.

“What this time?” Jamie asked.

“Aunt Penny really could learn not to share”, Stephen sighed, “especially at her age. She and Peter are both in their sixties, yet he is she says out of commission for a while 'because one of their games went slightly awry'.”

Peter Amerike had given up his seat at the same time as Stephen, and he too had been replaced by someone out of the Army. Jamie chuckled at his lover's face.

“She says to say thank you for the idea about the wooden spoon”, the nobleman said, looking at the soldier disapprovingly. “If we have to attend my cousin's funeral because of one of your suggestions, I will not be pleased!”

“Why not?” Jamie asked innocently. “At least he will have died with a smile on his face!”

Stephen shook his head at the pest.

“She also writes that the Scottish Estates have warned their English colleagues that they are prepared to send an army into England in order to secure their king's safety”, he said. “I would wager that they regret handing him back now, although they could hardly have done otherwise at the time. Taking him back to Scotland would have made him their problem rather than ours, and he would certainly have found a way to cause them as many troubles as he has since caused us.”

“Provided that Hammond keeps his wits about him, Charles Stuart cannot cause too much trouble just now”, Jamie yawned. “Does she say anything about the size of the army that my countrymen are mustering?”

“The Estates voted Hamilton an army of some thirty thousand”, Stephen said, “but from what she is hearing he will be lucky to reach a third of that number. The king's refusal to sign the Covenant has killed what small chance of success this venture may have had; the Kirk has indeed openly opposed the formation of the army which has led many men to refuse to sign up. Worse, the number of English Royalists going there to help, while I suppose welcome in one way, has exacerbated the situation as many of them are Catholics.”

“And even if their force does make it to England, they will find a country still recovering from the terrible harvest two years back”, Jamie said. “My countrymen are the best fighters but their logistics are poor – when I am not there to advise them, of course! - and the further they march into England the more that will tell against them. Their only hope is a whole bunch of men like Poyer over-stretching the Army, and I doubt that will be enough.”

MDCXLVIII

**April 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen stared at his lover in surprise. That had not been the reaction that he had been expecting.

“Dressed up as a woman?” Jamie frowned.

“Yes”, Stephen said, wondering why his lover looked so thoughtful. “It is very embarrassing for parliament of course, the escape of the king's second son, but the boy seems to have planned it exceptionally well. He had got into the habit of playing hide-and-seek with his captors in the Tower so they did not think it odd when they could not immediately find him one evening, and by the time they realized that he had escaped, he had slipped down to the docks in female attire and had gotten away.”

Jamie nodded, still looking thoughtful.

“What is it?” Stephen asked.

“I was just thinking”, Jamie said slowly, “of women's panties.”

The nobleman stared at him incredulously.

_”What?”_

“On you”, Jamie grinned darkly. “As a birthday present. For me!”

Stephen suddenly had difficulty breathing. And the smirking bastard before him knew that, damn the villain!

MDCXLVIII

**April 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Jamie turned forty on the twenty-third, St. George's Day. Quite how the bastard had managed to get two pairs of lacy women's panties shipped to the Hall in time, Stephen did not know. But then he did not remember much of the rest of that month either!

MDCXLVIII

**May 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

It was Stephen's own fortieth birthday, eight days after his lover's. Eight panty-filled days that had very nearly proven right that theory the nobleman had that his lover was trying to kill him through sex!

What was left of both sets of panties had had to be disposed of in the fire. They had been wrecked beyond repair, not unlike their wearer!

Stephen moaned as his sex maniac of a lover strolled across the room with, praise be, a plateful of food. He needed the energy after what he had been through of late.

“Oh this is for me”, said some evil bastard who was not getting laid (or doing any laying) any time this century. 

Stephen glared at him, and even the effort of that hurt. The soldier chuckled but helped his lover lever himself up in bed (even if that came with free and uncalled for smirking at someone's girly shri.... very slight and perfectly controlled expressions of pain, then fed him.

“Two bits of news came this morning, and from different directions”, Jamie said. “Would you like me to tell you about them or should I just wait until you can manage the stairs?”

“Bucky!”

The soldier sniggered at his lover's annoyance.

“Captain Quicksilver is recovered enough to start back from Wales”, he said, “and should be here on the fourth. The day before Fraser's retirement party. I am sure that he and Chatton will be marking that in the usual way; perhaps we should loan him all our Special Boxes?”

“I rather think that he would wish to reach his retirement!” Stephen snipped. “How is the captain?”

“I suspect in a poorer way that he is prepared to admit”, Jamie said. “As a soldier myself I know how to read between the lines. I think we should ask young Banner if he can use the cottage for a time; it does have a spare bedroom. Not that it has ever been used since the whole place was 'christened' by those two horn-dogs!”

“True”, Stephen said. “What was the other news?”

“The Army has sent troops to Cornwall as well as south Wales, I suppose after hearing rumours of trouble down there”, Jamie said. “Fairfax is fast running out of men; he can hardly rely on Lambert and his few thousand Northern Association soldiers to hold Hamilton for any length of time.”

“They must hope that Poyer and his allies will be swiftly defeated and they can regather their men, then”, Stephen said. “

“Do you think we should mark Fraser's retirement as well?” Jamie asked far too innocently.

Stephen glared at him. As if he was going to be capable of anything for the coming week!

“I meant a cash gift”, Jamie said with what was obviously mock sincerity. “Honestly Ste, your mind is only ever on one thing!”

“Pots and kettles!” the nobleman muttered as he shifted in their bed. “Ow!”

That was another snigger, damn his lover!

MDCXLVIII

**May 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The retirement of Stalwarton's chief steward was a happy affair, and even the normally stoic Fraser was seen to shed a tear when he thought that no-one was looking. Although that may have been due to Chatton whispering about those Special Boxes. His fellow Scotsman had looked terrified!

Edward made a good speech thanking the fellow for his years of service, and the only slightly unfortunate moment came when he mentioned that Fraser was known for always being ready to take things up and was a very hard worker who could now get some well-earned rest. Chatton had managed to cover up his laugh with a cough and the young lord had looked at him curiously but had thankfully carried on. 

Luckily he had not noticed just how red his retiring steward had gone.

MDCXLVIII

**May 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The following day Stephen made a point of having the returned Captain Quicksilver over to the Hall for dinner. The fellow looked decidedly battered and bruised after his Welsh mishap and, both Stephen and Jamie noted, moved a lot more slowly than before. The nobleman wondered about this but did not comment on it until their visitor had gone.

“That can happen to soldiers sometimes”, Jamie said. “You need a certain degree of self-confidence to be prepared to kill your fellow man, horrible as that sounds, and if you lose that you become like the captain, moving all loose like a puppet. Although it does not help that his being so tall, the effect is exaggerated.”

“Young Banner said that he had a nightmare last night”, Stephen said. “I only found out because I asked him why he looked so tired.”

He was not sure, but it seemed that there was the slightest hesitation before his lover replied.

“It is hard, dealing with a broken soldier”, he said. “I have seen strong men reduced to little more than ghosts by way, yet ones I thought weaker somehow bear the strain. You never know until the moment of trial comes.”

“I see”, Stephen said.”

“It is good that we are supporting Banner, though”, Jamie said. “I heard some of the workers saying that they did not like his Irish background but he was clearly in favour with the nobs so they would just have to lump it. A pity we cannot change their base attitudes, but it will do for now.”

“We will never change that sort of thing”, Stephen said, “but at least we can suppress it. And we will.”

MDCXLVIII


	5. Risings And Sinkings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May-June 1648.   
> Parliament starts to realize that it may be losing control of the situation (as in the sense of 'the Pope starts to realize that he may be Catholic'). The Royalist cause in Wales suffers a setback but risings elsewhere are indeed stretching the Army – so where are the Scots, invading to support their beloved (for now) monarch? Also a ship sinks, which may ultimately be a good thing for Stephen and Jamie.

**May 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Excellent news!” Stephen said a few days later. “We have won a victory over Poyer's men at a place called St. Fagan's in Glamorganshire, and virtually wiped them out despite being outnumbered three to one.”

“But I would wager that we had the advantage in cavalry”, Jamie said shrewdly, “which with our greater discipline likely won the day. That is important, though. As long as the enemy have an army in the field we would have had to have kept a large force down there to hunt them down before turning to deal with castles like Pembroke. Now Cromwell will be able to focus fully on the latter and perhaps even finish it off before the Scots get here.”

“The news from elsewhere is less good, though”, Stephen said. “There is great unrest in Kent, and the grand jury they empanelled to try the Christmas rioters has unanimously acquitted the whole lot of them.”

Jamie frowned.

“That was only to be expected”, he said. “The strength of the jury system is that it does not like injustice, and can be but little controlled by those in authority. Still, unless parliament does something incredibly stupid like trying to crack down on those celebrating the decision, it should soon blow over.”

MDCXLVIII

**May 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

As part of his rota of scheduled frequent visits to all the estate's churches, Stephen oftentimes attended Sunday services at both St. Giles and one of the other establishments. Normally this was all mapped out for months beforehand but with the advent of Captain Quicksilver the nobleman had decided to make two consecutive trips across the river to Holy Cross in order to support the newcomer. Who had been there the previous week but, rather curiously, was not there this one.

“I do hope that he is all right”, Stephen said to Jamie once the service was over. “Do you think that we should go down to the cottage and check? It is only a short walk.”

To his surprise, his lover blushed slightly.

“I would advise against it”, he said. 

“Why?” Stephen asked.

“I went for an early morning walk down by the river this Sabbath”, the soldier said with the beginnings of a smile, “and passed their cottage.”

“They were already up?” Stephen asked, surprised. “I know the ungodly hour that you go out walking!”

Jamie grinned.

“Banner was up all right!” he chuckled. “I looked through the window and he had the captain pinned in bed, fucking away inside him like his life depended on it!”

Stephen smiled too.

“This estate will get a reputation for that if it is not careful”, he said.

Jamie looked at him. Stephen looked back, then gulped.

“We are barely out of the church!” he protested. 

“An excellent opportunity to 'get ahead' on sins we can repent for next week, then!” the soldier grinned. 

Stephen sighed. His lover was.... why was he dithering when there was hot and sweaty sex to be had?

MDCXLVIII

**May 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Some people cannot take a hint”, Stephen sighed. “I really would have thought that London turning its back on the official celebration for our victory in Wales might have warned them, but apparently no.”

“What now?” Jamie yawned. “I am so tired!”

“Not so tired that you could not tease the poor captain earlier when he came over”, Stephen said reprovingly. “Asking him if he would like an extra cushion when he sat down so slowly.”

“It looks like Banner and I share the ability to render our lovers broken men”, Jamie said, grinning unrepentantly. “Fancy another session?”

“We have only just had dinner”, Stephen said, “so no. I am afraid that the Kentish authorities were as stupid as we both feared, and tried to prevent the celebrations for the acquittals last week. Now the whole county is up in arms, and that idiot Goring's father the Earl of Norwich is raising an army there. Fairfax will have to go there to deal with him, although thankfully it is not far.”

“Some people cannot take a hint”, Jamie agreed. “Although from the way the captain sat down earlier, Banner can certainly take....”

Stephen stopped him with a look. Honestly, the rogue was somehow getting even worse!

Thankfully!

MDCXLVIII

**May 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“You do not think that they are actually sincere?”

Stephen chuckled at his lover's question.

“Westminster is full of politicians”, he said, “for whom sincerity is one of what they call 'those flexible concepts'. No, these negotiations with the king are nothing more than a fig-leaf to weaken the uprisings in his name that are flaring up all over the place. They will likely offend the Army but they will see it as insignificant; real power in this country lies at the sharp end of a gun nowadays. A gun likely wielded by an Independent, not the largely Presbyterian parliament. This will likely go down in history as the war in which parliament fought against the king – and both sides lost!”

Jamie smiled at that.

MDCXLVIII

**May 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

In an era when news could take any amount of time to reach somewhere as remote as Stalwarton, it was not uncommon to have long periods of quiet and then two things reach them at once. Today however it had been four – and the last of those had proven very significant.

“The Irish are in disagreement over this truce between Dublin and the Confederates”, Stephen told his lover.

“The Irish are in disagreement”, Jamie echoed. “Next thing, you will be telling me that the sky is blue!”

“The important thing is that they could have greatly assisted the king by finally sending those troops he was expecting half a decade ago”, Stephen said. “Had they managed to land in the west somewhere, Fairfax might have found himself too overstretched even for a man of his abilities. Though I recall that you once said that he was really an average soldier.”

“A good commander but an average politician”, Jamie clarified. “His men love him because he values their lives; that may lead him into mistakes from time to time but they will forgive him that because they trust him to do right by them. Sadly very few commanders are like that.”

“The news from Kent is not so good”, Stephen said. “Not only is the county up in arms but some nine ships in the Downs have defected and fled to the Netherlands. The king now has a significant naval force; not enough to challenge us maybe, but enough to damage our Channel trade.”

“You said that there were two more pieces of news”, Jamie said. “What are they?”

“Those ships may be a problem because the Continental powers have finally gotten round to signing treaties in Westphalia”, Stephen said. “The Dutch have agreed peace with Spain; they retain their seven rich northern provinces and a part of Brabant, while the Spanish hold the ten southern ones. It was a close call and the Dutch states nearly rejected it, but it scraped through.”

“But they will still be worried about the French looking to grab towns in Flanders”, Jamie said. “And?”

Stephen hesitated.

“Diana has learned that the _'Merriwether'_ has been lost en route to the Americas.”

Jamie did not get it at first but then his eyes widened. Stephen nodded.

“Mrs. Garsdale's ship”, he said softly. “She did not make it.”

“Oh”, the soldier said softly.

They both sat there in silence, just thinking over a death that, horrible as it was to even think it, had benefited them both.

MDCXLVIII

**June 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Excellent news!” Stephen beamed. “Fairfax has crushed Norwich at Maidstone and scattered his army. Some rebels are said to have fled into Essex but they can only have been few hundred in number.”

“But he will have to spend time squashing the remaining towns and forts holding out for the king”, Jamie pointed out. “Plus Essex, like Kent, is known for its rebellious ways¹. But at least Fairfax will be able to swing over to block any Scottish advance on the capital – if they ever come.”

“They will come”, Jamie sighed. “And they will be annihilated. It will be a bloodbath, for which the king will be held to blame. Then when the revolt is finally dead and buried, there will be a reckoning.”

Stephen shuddered at that. He knew exactly what his lover meant in those simple words.

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) Jamie was referring to the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, when anti-tax riots in both Essex and Kent led to a march on London. The peasants seized control of the city and murdered several prominent noblemen but foolishly believed the promises made to them by young King Richard the Second and dispersed; the bloody aftermath saw around 1,500 executions._


	6. Firefighting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June-July 1648.   
> The dour midsummer weather seems to reflect the mood of the country, resigned to yet more pointless bloodshed. With Fairfax held up in eastern Essex and Cromwell busy in the remotest corner of west Wales, Royalist hopes rise, but a southern invasion by Henry, Earl of Holland gets nowhere – and still there is no sign of the promised thirty thousand-strong Scottish army. What on earth is going on?

**June 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen chuckled as he read his latest letter from Vale and Diana down in London.

“What is it?” Jamie asked as he stared out of the window. It was raining again, not particularly heavily but enough that not having any urgent tasks was keeping them indoors.

“The old county loyalty thing has played to our advantage”, he said. “Remember how I said that Fairfax was besieging the rebels in Colchester on the east coast?”

“A formidable place from what I have heard of it”, Jamie said. “Though it is to his advantage that he has the ships to blockade it.”

“The rebels were hoping that the men of Suffolk would march to their aid and lift the siege on their northern side”, Stephen said. “But Fairfax got to them first, and persuaded them that the best way to keep the Army out of _their_ county was to help him finish the siege in Essex. They have joined his forces and the town is totally cut off; the only downside is that he tried to use his increased numbers to storm the place but was repulsed.”

“With Cromwell hundreds of miles away on the Welsh coast, one of them has to bring their siege to a conclusion and move north”, Jamie said. “Likely Cromwell as Pembroke is only a castle and could be left to relatively few men to besiege. I am surprised my countrymen have not crossed the Border yet, though I suppose that is the Kirk's doing.”

“It cannot be long now”, Stephen said. “And from Adey's last letter it sounded as if the North was getting much the same dreadful weather as we are, which means that the Scots will not be able to live off the land as they usually do. Worse for them, their trying will dissuade English Royalists from joining them.”

“I wonder whether they will come via the east or the west coast?” Stephen mused. “All the northern counties have some chance of raising men for them, or so they will think. I suppose Yorkshire and the east coast would be the more tempting, especially as they might even reach Colchester in time if they got a move on.”

“Let us hope that it is not a repeat of the Northern Rising¹”, Stephen said with a shudder. “We all know how that ended!

Jamie nodded, and continued to stare out at the steadily falling rain.

MDCXLVIII

**June 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“I know that some of the Levellers feel that Cromwell has betrayed them in all this”, Stephen said about a week later, “and that they call him and Fairfax the Grandees. Yet both clearly care for their men; he has written to me of his arrival outside Pembroke and thanked me for taking care of Captain Quicksilver.”

“I rather think that it is young Banner who is taking care of Captain Quicksilver”, Jamie grinned mischievously. “Several times a night, judging from the way a certain soldier-politician sat down so carefully in church last Sunday!”

Stephen shook his head at his lover.

“Edward reminded me that we are going to have to buy in extra grain this year”, he said. “Luckily last year was a decent harvest and we still have some left. If I can secure our supplies in time then I shall be able to spare some to send to Cromwell and his men. He will likely be passing not far from here when he has finished with Pembroke and is moving north, given how poor the roads in Wales are.”

“A cynic might say that you are trying to buy the favours of the ruling class”, Jamie teased. 

“A cynic or an annoying soldier”, Stephen retorted.

Jamie just looked at him. The nobleman sighed; it looked like his afternoon in was about to involve him lying down a lot and screaming into his gag while his well-hung lover once again tried to fuck him into oblivion.

_With any luck!_

MDCXLVIII

**July 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“That is the difference between me and the rest of my countrymen”, Jamie grinned as his lover sat down very, very carefully on his padded chair. “They have come late to the battle, while I have made you come three times today. _So far!”_

Stephen shuddered at the implied threat there, then sighed with relief once he was safely down. There had been a thunderstorm that morning and his normal wake-up call had been dragged out, along with most of the come from the nobleman's body. He had nearly fallen over when he had tried to make it to the door afterwards, although that did not give some smirking bastard the right to gloat.

_No it did not!_

“If it is any consolation then I am sure that Thor is in an even worse state”, Jamie grinned. Stephen's half-brother and the latter's lover had been visiting yesterday and had stayed overnight to avoid the bad weather.

“I doubt that even Thor could feel as wrecked as I do”, Stephen sighed.

“Bren borrowed all three of our Special Boxes”, Jamie chuckled. 

The nobleman wondered briefly if he was about to be minus one relative. Something that seemed only confirmed when a grinning Brennus joined them in the study wearing only a dressing-gown. Open.

“My master bids you good day”, the fellow grinned, “and asks if we might stay another night. Seems the idea of riding home today is a bit much for him!”

“He certainly had some riding last night if you used Box Three!” Jamie smiled.

Stephen just sighed. He was surrounded by sex maniacs.... and why was his lover looking at him like that? Lord help him!

MDCXLVIII

Once again, the Lord did not. And once again, Stephen Roger Amerike was glad!

MDCXLVIII

**July 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“It looks like you were right about the Prince of Wales trying something to assist this revolt”, Stephen told his lover a couple of days later. They had finally seen Brennus and a still crying Thor off, the latter visibly suffering as his horse trotted away down the road while his own lover smirked beside him. A second thunderstorm last night had likely not helped matters.

Stephen's own body reminded him of its own 'sufferings' as a result of that storm, and he smiled at the memory.

“We do not need another storm for that”, Jamie pointed out unhelpfully.

The nobleman just sighed at him.

“The Earl of Holland² has tried to invade in support of the uprising”, he said, “but his small force has been crushed by a party send by Fairfax to hunt them down and is now moving north. I suppose that they will try to join up with the Scots.”

“If it is Fairfax's men pursuing them, they will not get far”, Jamie said confidently. “It is good news in one way that my countrymen are taking the western route through Carlisle; they will be unlikely to pass anywhere near your brother's lands with the Pennines in between.”

“But we still have Fairfax and Cromwell tied down besieging forts on opposite coasts”, Stephen fretted. “And Hamilton's army may only be reported at around ten thousand, but that is still far more than Lambert has. Which means more damage to innocent people are more deaths – deaths which will soon be laid at the king's door.”

“That cannot be”, Jamie said in mock horror. “Remember, Charles Stuart is God's man on Earth. How can he _possibly_ be wrong?”

Stephen smiled at his lover's _faux_ outrage.

MDCXLVIII

**July 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Bruce has brought some news from Captain Quicksilver.”

Jamie quirked an eyebrow at his lover. Stephen knew full well that someone as smart as his lover had to see through his attempts to provoke his jealousy, but then the soldier was the obliging sort who most times let rip anyway. 

_”Bruce?”_ Jamie asked in a warning voice.

“It is his name”, Stephen smiled, “and besides, I can hardly call him what the captain calls him.”

“If 'The Incredible Hulk' ever does to you what he does to the captain”, Jamie said, “then _someone_ will swiftly earn my displeasure. My very firm if not rock-hard displeasure!”

He looked darkly at his lover, who shuddered pleasurably.

“Holland has been caught at St. Neot's, up in Huntingdonshire”, he said. “So it looks like he was heading towards East Anglia, and those rumours that the Prince of Wales was going to try a landing on that coast look to have been true.”

“And?” Jamie asked, running his tongue around his lips in a way that did not bode well for someone else in the room being able to sit down any time soon.”

“Pembroke has fallen and Cromwell is on his way”, Stephen said quickly. “He has set a muster for Nottingham to try to scrape together what troops he can from the Midlands, before he joins up with Lambert.”

“So we know where to send the extra food we have to spare”, Jamie said, rising slowly to his feet. “I think that that calls for.... a celebration!”

Stephen gulped in terror!

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) A 1569 revolt against Great Elizabeth precipitated by the arrival in the North the previous year of her cousin Mary, deposed Queen of Scots (Charles the First's grandmother). Elizabeth acted fast, removing Mary south to Coventry and arranging an army so quickly that the rebels dispersed rather than try to face it (or worse, her!). Since some seven hundred towns and villages had supplied men to the revolt, she had seven hundred captives put to death and a body displayed in each place. The Northerners took the 'hint'; there were no more uprisings in the rest of her reign._   
>  _2) Henry Rich (b. 1590), younger brother of the Earl of Warwick who by this time had been compelled to resign his naval command under the Self-Denying Ordinance. Holland was said to be great with words but less so with swords, which was cruel but true._


	7. Preston And Parleys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> July-August 1648.   
> Cromwell hurries north in an attempt to join up with John Lambert in order to oppose the Scottish army, but not before paying a call on a certain Oxfordshire nobleman where there is one of the most difficult conversations of Stephen's life (thus far). The English Army is victorious and peace is restored, but now there will be a reckoning – and a realization that for the two lovers that their secret is now not that secret.

**July 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“I am getting tired of all this rain.”

Stephen looked up in surprise at his charge, and unfortunately sat down rather quicker than he had intended. His eyes watered at the pain but he managed to avoid crying out. Despite some bastard over there by the fireplace and his knowing smirk!

“It will make for another poor harvest”, the nobleman agreed, glad to find that at least his voice still worked, “but thankfully we have enough grain on the way to fill our granaries and see us through winter.”

“Plus we can pay the men extra to guard it”, Jamie agreed. “It is good that we have so many men who know how to handle a weapon!”

Stephen glared at him for the _double entendre_. His lover was so not helping!

“I suppose that I should be glad that Thunor cannot come over”, Edward sighed. His future wife had a bad cold and so had not been able to see him this past week, something Stephen had been a little surprised that the young man had looked sad over.

“I do not see an end to this rain any time soon”, Jamie said. “And I think that it will be a bitter winter.”

“This eternal dampness makes it hard to sleep at night”, the young man said. “I went down for a glass of water the other night and sat in your study, sir. I hope that you do not mind?”

Stephen was about to say no when an awful thought struck him. Before he could speak the boy continued.

“And you must have been restless too”, he said. “I could hear you tossing and turning in your room all the time I was there.”

“Yes, my liege finds getting his rest 'hard' at times!” Jamie grinned.

Stephen was rapidly going off of him!

MDCXLVIII

**July 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Appleby?” Stephen asked, surprised. “That is barely forty miles from the Border if I have it right.”

Jamie nodded.

“Hamilton surprised Lambert's camp there but he managed to withdraw in good order over the Pennines to Barnard's Castle in Durham”, he said. “A good move; the Scots will not venture crossing a mountain range when it will barely move them any closer to London. Though with Cromwell in the Midlands now they are pretty much toast.”

“Surely they have a great advantage in numbers, though?” Stephen asked.

His lover shook his head.

“Like at St. Fagan's, the New Model Army's discipline will more than make up for that”, he said. “Cromwell will do what I myself would do to a foreign army with a lengthening supply chain; target that and any stragglers, slowly reducing their morale until they lose the will to fight. Then hopefully surrender without a pitched battle, saving many of his men's lives.”

MDCXLVIII

**July 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“It was very good of you to come so far out of your way, sir”, Stephen said politely. “Especially just to check up on Captain Quicksilver.”

The gentleman sat opposite him nodded. It was just the two of them, Stephen Amerike and his in-law Oliver Cromwell. 

“My Lord Amerike”, the soldier said shortly, “I am a plain man and I speak plainly. I know my men think that I set them impossibly high moral standards. Do you know why?”

Fortunately Stephen did, as he had had that conversation with Jamie. At a time when the two of them.... he seriously did not need to start blushing now, especially when facing someone so sharp.

“Because the higher the target, the higher degree of morality the men will achieve”, he answered. “That was why the common people helped your men in the closing years of the contention; they knew that unlike the king you kept control of them and they need not have feared being robbed.”

“Hmm.”

The soldier stared hard at him. Stephen may or may not have sweated. A lot.

“I chose Quicksilver for your old seat in parliament for a reason”, his visitor said at last. “As you say, I set high moral standards for my men in the knowledge that most will fall short. I do not inquire into what they do in private unless their life choices affect their fighting abilities. Then I dismiss them.”

Stephen frowned.

“I do not follow you, sir”, he said.

“Quicksilver and that young fellow he lives with”, Cromwell said. “They are almost as obvious as you and Mr. Buchanan!”

“Sir....”

“Do not try to protest, sir”, the soldier said. “I have eyes and I can see; however like with some of my men I can also choose to _not_ see. You are a good friend and a relation of sorts, and your.... Mr. Buchanan is just as sound.”

He took a deep breath.

“But there comes a time when, however much he might wish it, a man must see an unpleasant truth”, he said harshly. “That was why I referred to the king as that man of blood a while back. You and Mr. Buchanan are both smart men; you know as well as I what will happen once we have destroyed the Scottish army. The king cannot be trusted, nor can he be allowed to live. You know what that means.”

Unfortunately Stephen did. Ugh!

“I would wager that one or two of the men under me know or at least suspect the truth about you and your friend”, Cromwell went on, “but they also know that we are related and that my displeasure has been known to result in a one-way trip to the Barbadoes. But I am nine years your senior, sir, and in a profession that wears a man down sooner than his time. Once I am gone, you will need to take care.”

Stephen nodded.

“I will sir,” he said. “And thank you.”

MDCXLVIII

“He brought one piece of news which had reached him before us”, Stephen told his lover later once he had related their visitor's warning. “The Prince of Wales did try to effect a landing off Great Yarmouth but was repulsed by the locals there. That did surprise me; I would have thought that he would have tried to sail round to the west coast and join up with Hamilton. He could hardly expect to cross the country undetected, surely?”

“He well might”, Jamie countered. “There is a lot of Royalist sentiment in the North, and while people may not be prepared to join an invading Scottish army, they would likely 'not see' a tall dark man matching the prince's description. You can sometimes assist a cause greatly by doing precisely nothing.”

Not too far into the future, Stephen would see just how true that statement was.

MDCXLVIII

**August 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

August brought slightly better weather though not much, the rain returning most days. Stephen had heard that his worryingly perceptive in-law had joined up with Lambert somewhere in Yorkshire and that they were crossing the Pennines to engage the Scots, then nothing for nearly a fortnight. Until one day the news came all at once.

“Crushed!” Stephen exclaimed. “Cromwell and his men came upon the rearguard at Preston and routed it, then part of the main army tried to block his pursuit by guarding Winwick Pass only for the locals to show our men a path around it. They were slaughtered to a man, and what little was left Hamilton abandoned to surrender on the best terms that they could get.”

“Which will likely be that one-way trip to working themselves to death in the Barbadoes”, Jamie said grimly. “The rebellion has failed; Colchester will certainly surrender once they hear of it, though they may think it a ruse and fight on for a while.”

“I doubt that”, Stephen said. “They know what despite his being their opponent, Fairfax is not that sort of general. I am only disappointed that they did not manage to catch Hamilton.”

“He is a slippery fish”, Jamie said, “and perhaps letting him go might not have been so bad. He certainly did a lot of harm to the king's case in Scotland during the war, mainly through plain incompetence.”

“The second civil war is over, and mercifully shorter than the first”, Stephen said. “And now, the reckoning.”

MDCXLVIII

**August 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“They caught Hamilton at Uttoxeter in Staffordshire”, Stephen told Jamie a few days later. “I suppose that he was trying to slip home through Yorkshire, but he did not get far.”

“And they did not execute the fellow immediately?” Jamie asked, surprised. Stephen shook his head.

“Cromwell thinks that he might implicate the king even deeper into this war”, he said, “in return for his life.”

“He will not”, Jamie said firmly. “He may not have any brains but he has character; he will not play the traitor.”

“Perhaps he should”, Stephen said gently. “Because the king is going to meet his end anyway, so the duke's betraying him would just make it sooner rather than later.”

“Leopards do not change their spots”, Jamie said firmly. “He will keep silent.”

MDCXLVIII

**August 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen was strangely silent as he read the latest news. His lover looked at him, concerned.

“Colchester?” Jamie hazarded.

“Surrendered”, Stephen said. “The common soldiers on the usual terms, the lords and gentlemen at mercy.”

The soldier spotted at once what he had left unsaid there.

“Fairfax is usually merciful”, he said curiously. “Not this time?”

Stephen shook his head.

“Norwich and his two aristocratic friends¹ have been sent to parliament to have their fates voted on”, he said, “but Lucas², Lisle³, Farre⁴ and Gascoigne⁵ were all condemned to death. Farre escaped which is damn suspicious, and Gascoigne proclaimed his Florentine nationality so he had to be spared, but Lucas and Lisle were both shot dead by firing-squad.”

“When even someone like Fairfax goes that far”, Jamie said, “then even given he is still acting within the laws of war, we are entering dangerous times. The question is now, what to do with the king?”

“Unfortunately I think we both know the answer to that”, Stephen sighed. “The question is, how?”

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) Arthur Capell, Baron Hadham (b. 1608) and Henry Hastings, Lord Loughborough (b. 1610). Parliament agreed to send Loughborough into exile but kept Hadham in the Tower while considering what to do with him. Unluckily he tried to escape and was caught, so they hanged him after all (1649)._   
>  _2) Charles Lucas (b. 1613). He had fought at both Powick Bridge and Stow, at both ends of the First Civil War._   
>  _3) George Lisle (b. 1610). He was some sort of distant relation to the late George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Upon the Restoration his and Lucas's bodies were exhumed and given a full ceremonial burial by the people of Colchester._   
>  _4) Bernardo Guasconi (b. 1614). He was fortunate indeed that parliament did not want to upset his native Tuscany by executing him; he was subsequently expelled._   
>  _5) Henry Farre (birthdate unknown). His escape was possibly contrived at as he had originally served parliament, so he may have had colleagues among his guards._


	8. There's A War On!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> August-September 1648.   
> Whiggamores are on the rise while Engagers are on the wane. Two men go for a roll in the hay – surprisingly not the two you were expecting (this time!) – and young Edward Stark says the worst possible thing. And parliament decides that the middle of the war is a perfect time to change the state religion. As you do.

**August 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Jamie stared incredulously at his lover.

“They have done what?” he asked.

“Parliament has declared Presbyterianism their approved religion”, the nobleman repeated.

The soldier shook his head in disbelief.

“They are aware that there is still a war on?” he asked. “And that a certain Mr. O. Cromwell might just have something to say on such a decision?”

“It is likely just a negotiating ploy”, Stephen said dismissively. “The Lords....”

“What, all seven of them?” snorted his lover.

“The Lords”, Stephen said, looking disapprovingly at his teasing (if rather too close to correct) lover, “wanted to invite the king to London for more talks. The Commons, for obvious reasons, did not, so they agreed to provisionally accept Presbyterianism if the Lords would agree to the talks taking place down on the Isle of Wight.”

“Then for their own safety they had better talk damn quickly”, Jamie retorted. “Cromwell may be occupied in tidying up a few loose ends in the North for a while, but when he gets down south and finds that sort of thing going on, he will not be happy!”

MDCXLVIII

**August 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Of course I know.”

Stephen reminded himself that even in these troubled times, murder was still against the law. Even against handsome, well-hung yet annoying Winter Soldiers who smirked far too much for their lover's liking.

“Bucky!”

“Oh, you wanted me to tell you?” Jamie asked innocently.

“I can refuse to put out for a month, you know!” Stephen said pointedly.

Suddenly and moving far too fast for any man his lover was right behind him, his breath hot on the nobleman's neck.

“My liege”, came that impossibly deep growl, “if I set my mind to it I could have you coming in your breeches in little more than the time it would take me to close the curtains and lock the door!”

Stephen tried to control his suddenly rapid breathing. The soldier chuckled.

“But we have dinner coming soon”, he said, “which means that we will have to delay _your_ coming until later. Though do not worry – I will more than make up for it then!”

Stephen coughed. It was not a high-pitched whine, whatever anyone smir.... said.

“But to answer your question”, Jamie grinned, “whiggamores¹ are, or at least were, men who drove mares when they needed to be gathered in. Since horses are mostly raised only in Galloway and the Border counties, the term is sometimes used for men from those parts – people who are more likely to be against the Covenant and for the king.”

“Well, they are against the Covenant all right”, Stephen said, recovering his breath somewhat. “They have just marched on Edinburgh.”

Jamie just nodded. His lover looked at him in surprise.

“I was expecting something like that”, the soldier said. “Argyll was at best passive towards the Engagement and would have been looking for an opportunity to wreck it once it had proven to have failed. If he is not behind these horse-men then I will eat my hat!”

“So cynical!” Stephen smiled.

“I think you meant to say, 'so well-endowed!” Jamie corrected. “Our room, three minutes, you, naked!”

Stephen just sighed, but when his lover pointedly looked at his watch, he fled. With good timing he could take a few seconds over that time, which would then annoy his lover enough to let rip. A win all round!

MDCXLVIII

**September 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The only thing more annoying that some smirking lover who was responsible for Stephen's currently needing a cushion even on his padded chair was, the nobleman had decided, a smirking lover who had just gotten lucky in one of his guesses. And was smirking for all Scotland!

“Who would have thought that Argyll would lead the Whiggamores into the Scottish capital?” Jamie said with what was very obviously fake innocence. “Oh wait – I did. Clever me!”

“His troubles may be only just beginning”, Stephen said, scowling at the show-off. “In his last letter Cromwell said that he would be heading to Scotland before dealing with the king's last few castles in Yorkshire.”

Jamie shook his head.

“Cromwell still has the king to sort out”, he said, “and Argyll wants some sort of settlement which will leave him as regent in all but name. He loves power.”

“That might be a bit difficult if his king has been dispatched to the next world”, Stephen pointed out. “Surely most of these Whiggamores support their monarch?”

“They support the _idea_ of Monarchy”, Jamie corrected. “Besides Argyll is a wily fellow; as I once said the sort for whom you would count your fingers after shaking hands with him. I am sure that he had worked out just what Cromwell is pretty much bound to do and knows that if he does it, it will mean big problems for him in fair Scotia. But he is also what we soldiers call a 'forenoon fellow'; he will happily put off until the morrow a problem that does not have to be dealt with today.”

“This king may not have that many morrows left”, Stephen said pointedly.

MDCXLVIII

**September 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Why does Captain Quicksilver need time off, sir?”

Stephen managed not to blush as he faced his charge.

“He asked if Mr. Buchanan and I could take on some of his duties after Mr. Banner had his fall”, he said. “Thankfully the doctor was able to bandage his leg up but he can hardly move around the cottage, so he needs someone with him at times.”

“But how did he fall?” Edward fretted. “The captain said that they were in a barn and Mr. Banner fell from the upper storey. Is the place dangerous at all?”

Only to men who roll around on the upper story in the pitch dark while having sex and do not first check for any open trap-doors, Stephen thought but could hardly say. Thankfully there had been some handy hay bales which had cushioned their new junior steward's fall, but he had hurt his leg on landing. Especially when his (thankfully lighter) lover had landed squarely on top of him!

“You are right”, he said. “In fact they were testing the upper storey when it gave way.”

“Dangerous thing, that testing”, Jamie said unhelpfully. 

“I do hope that he recovers soon”, Edward said. “And it is good that Captain Quicksilver worries about him. It is hardly as if he was responsible for him breaking his leg.”

Stephen shot his lover a warning look that stopped whatever smart-arsed comment the bastard had been about to make. He still smirked though, damn the fellow!

MDCXLVIII

**September 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Jamie shook his head in at the young man.

“You said _what?”_ he asked incredulously.

“I could not help it!” Edward said. “Thunor and I were walking through the village and she asked if I thought that one of the girls there was pretty!”

“And you actually said yes?” Jamie asked. “What were you thinking?”

“I know!” the young man moaned. “The look she gave me – I wanted to run away as fast as my legs would carry me. And the cold way in which she said goodbye to me – it was like being in an ice-house!”

“That is one of the two most deadly questions a woman can ask a man”, Jamie said. “Almost as bad as 'do you think this makes me look fat?' You have to apologize, and fast.”

“But how?” Edward asked. “You are a man of the world, Mr. Buchanan. How do I go about it?”

Stephen was marginally offended that his charge had not asked him for help. And some bastard's ever-present smirk was Not Helping Matters!

“Write her a poem”, Jamie said. “I have some to hand; I used them when I had cause in times past.”

Stephen narrowly avoided a blush. It was one of his lover's strange little quirks that he liked to recite love poems that he had written, or sometimes even Shakespearian sonnets – which fucking the living daylights out of him. He could even remember the odd word here or there. Well, some of them.

“I shall find you one and help you turn it into a proper apology”, Jamie promised.

“Thank you, sir”, the young man said, clearly relieved.

MDCXLVIII

“Although his begging forgiveness will likely be as effective as the Scots currently begging Cromwell not to invade their country”, Jamie grinned once he had set the boy up with his task. “But then some men are good at begging.”

Stephen looked at him sharply. That sounded suspiciously like snark!

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) Reportedly from the cry of 'whiggam!', used to encourage their horses. The term whiggamores was also used for the Kirk Party who had opposed the Engagement, and as such later devolved to Whigs, those in politics who opposed the Stuart dynasty._


	9. A Tighter Squeeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> September-November 1648.   
> The town of Newport on the Isle of Wight is the scene of the last attempt to get some sort of deal with the king which, to the surprise of approximately zero people, falls flat. Cromwell sorts out the Scots but a (possibly) accidental killing hardens his heart towards his enemies at just the wrong moment. Yet even his own men want one more attempt to win the king over – surely their monarch cannot be so stupid again?  
> Er......

**September 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The king's fortunes have taken another ill turn in Ireland”, Stephen said to his lover, “and the news from his island gaol are that he is once again playing for time. Time that he is fast running out of.”

“What news from Ireland?” Jamie asked.

“Monck has managed to defeat the Engagers up in Ulster”, Stephen said. “Meanwhile Dublin and Kilkenny refuse to talk to each other so neither of them can send any men to their monarch. Cromwell will strike some sort of deal with Argyll, finish off the Yorkshire castles and then....”

He trailed off. Both men knew full well what would come after that 'then'.

MDCXLVIII

**September 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

At least there was some good familial news to take their minds off of heavier matters, and it reached the Hall the very next day. Luke's wife had made Stephen a grandfather for the fourth time with a daughter to be named after the mother.

“It was a difficult birth though”, Luke said, sitting down and looking exhausted, his father thought. “We shall definitely wait a few years before trying again, if we do. Four children is a handful especially with young Lissa growing up so fast. She is very much your god-daughter Uncle James, and will likely terrify whichever young buck is unfortunate enough to be chosen by her as her husband.”

“Some men are so whipped”, Jamie agreed. “In fact....”

“Stop right there!” Luke said firmly. “I was raised by you two troublemakers and I know damn well when a conversation is headed somewhere that might just keep me awake at nights!”

“Very well”, Jamie sighed in a mock put-upon tone. “I shall stick to sticking it to your father!”

Luke just rolled his eyes at him.

MDCXLVIII

**September 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“That is Scotland secure, then”, Stephen told his lover about a week later. “Apparently the appearance of Cromwell in their country made most of the Engagers decide that they were not really into engaging with the king after all, and the Whiggamores have swatted away the few that remained.”

“Good news for your in-law then”, Jamie said. “A day or so to check on things up there then he can come back to finish off Yorkshire, And then to the Isle of Wight.”

“From his letter he is increasingly anxious over his own men”, Stephen said. “Of course they all want peace, but some want the same sort of settlement with the king that parliament does while others want him dead.”

“Cromwell?” Jamie asked.

“He knows what the end-game must be”, Stephen said sadly, “which was why he came out with that 'man of blood' comment. There may be more talks in one way or another but we both know that the king can never be trusted, especially now.”

“Soldiers are surprisingly superstitious given our career calling”, Jamie agreed. “Many will share Cromwell's opinion that the king was denying God's will in restarting this war. Though I would wager that Charles Stuart justified it because he is bound to win in the end so anything is permissible.”

“Monarchy may indeed win in the end”, Stephen said, “but not with this king.”

MDCXLVIII

**October 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“I wonder what they can still be talking about in your homeland”, Stephen mused. “It has been over a week since Cromwell reached Edinburgh, and there is no earthly way that someone with his connections cannot know about the negotiations at Newport.”

“Perhaps he is wagering on the king simply playing for time as he has done roughly one hundred per cent of occasions in the past?” Jamie smiled. “And even if he did reach some accommodation with parliament, a few well-armed soldiers could swiftly put an end to it.”

“I do not think it would be that easy”, Stephen said. “Everyone says that Fairfax is a soldier's soldier while Cromwell is a politician as well. From his character he is always determined to act legally. I would say within our constitution except that we do not really have one apart from Magna Carta.”

“And some extremists dismiss even that”, Jamie agreed. 

“He thanked me for the extra food I sent his men”, Stephen said, “which he said was greatly appreciated. It is shameful that parliament always supplies its men so poorly and pays them irregularly. He welcomed the morale boost that his men got when they found there was more food than they expected for once.”

“People whine about soldiers living off the land yet somehow expect not to have to pay the taxes that fund them”, Jamie said. “It is like poor Essex's crew after Turnham Green; for a few days they were the saviours of London but soon they were an encumbrance and a burden. Such poor treatment always makes me angry.”

Stephen was about to answer when he realized just how his lover was looking at him. Apparently James Buchanan Barnes needed to work out some of that anger in the near future. The very near future!

MDCXLVIII

**October 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Is my guardian upset, do you know sir?”

Jamie looked at Edward in surprise.

“I do not think so”, he said, forbearing from commenting on the fact that the wreckage that was his lover probably did not have the energy to be upset just now. “Why do you ask?”

“Only I had to go to the library to get a book for my studies”, the boy said, “and I thought that I heard him yelling 'Lord help me!'.”

Jamie managed not to blush, but it was close.

“Can you keep a confidence, sir?” he asked.

“Of course”, the young man said.

“Your guardian was trying on some old clothes”, Jamie said, “and he found that some of them no longer fitted him. He was a little upset as they were ones that he had liked.”

And certainly not because of the leather harness with releasable straps which a certain soldier had used to hold back his lover's orgasm, he thought wryly. No sir, not that at all.

The boy looked hard at him.

“Poor fellow”, he said. “It must be hard.”

It had been, Jamie thought with a smile. _At least until he had released the binding straps and had had to control his lover's fire-hose eruption!_

MDCXLVIII

**October 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Cromwell is finally back in Yorkshire”, Stephen told Jamie. “And not before time; there are rumours that the negotiators in Newport are not that far off reaching a deal with the king.”

“Like he would ever stick to it!” Jamie snorted. “And if they believe that he would, I have a bridge I would like to see them – for cash!”

“Pontefract¹ and Scarborough are holding out for the king there”, Stephen said, “and Cromwell is leading the siege of the former. I suppose that its location makes it the more important of the two. Then he will be able to come south again.”

Jamie nodded.

“By the way”, Stephen said looking hard at his lover, “why did Edward ask me if I needed new clothes?”

“I had to explain why you were screaming for mercy that time I had you in the harness”, Jamie said blithely. “I could hardly tell him that I had gotten so distracted that I had nearly let you rupture yourself, could I?”

Stephen blushed. His lover had a point, he supposed. But there was no need for him to smirk about it as well!

MDCXLVIII

**November 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Jamie did not like this. His lover had read through his latest letter and had remained oddly silent upon finishing it.

“Pontefract?” the soldier ventured.

“It has not fallen”, Stephen said shortly.

“But something has happened”, Jamie said. “What, pray?”

Stephen took a deep breath.

“Rainsborough has been killed at Doncaster”, he said. “A bungled kidnap attempt, reportedly.”

Jamie looked curiously at him.

“Reportedly?” he asked.

“He was in great disfavour with Cromwell of late, after his strange ideas that every man in England should have the vote”, he said. “I would wager the entire estate against my in-law having done anything underhand – he is far too upstanding – but there are many in his camp who are not and who know that he disliked Rainsborough as a trouble-maker. One wonders...”

“The removal of a nuisance who might have again become an even bigger nuisance what with the king still unsorted”, Jamie said. “Timely.”

They were both clearly wondering.... perhaps a little too timely?

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) Like Scarborough, it too would be demolished after the king's death._


	10. Purges And Prayers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> November-December 1648.   
> Thirty years of war in Germany finally comes to an end, and in England too the endgame is nigh. The Army, wishing to avoid more bloodshed, pushes for a final, final attempt to strike a deal with the king, but it inevitably fails and when parliament tries to strike its own agreement there is a particularly painful Purge. The king is doomed, but before he makes his last fateful journey to London he makes a request which, surprisingly, is granted – to meet with the man who once saved his son from a beating.

**November 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Cromwell is moving fast”, Stephen observed. “He is with the main body of the army now, at St. Albans.”

Jamie looked at him expectantly. Stephen nodded.

“it is as he expected”, he said. “The bulk of his men want one last push for an agreement with the king, some because they hope for a settlement even at this late stage and others who fear that parliament might get in there first.”

“Even if they did, they do not have the power to make it stick”, Jamie said. “This is a military dictatorship in all but name, and the moment that parliament tries to do something that is displeasing to the men with guns, they will find that out the hard way.”

“I do not think that there will be violence”, Stephen said. “Not while Cromwell is in charge, at least. But as the death of Rainsborough may or may not have showed, he has those around him including Ireton who might push things too far, or try to create a situation where he could justify hard actions 'because parliament was resisting what was right'.”

“He took that badly, despite loathing the fellow”, Jamie said. “But then for all his outspokenness he was a brother-in-arms. Odd that he is now using the same rules favoured once by a certain Charles Stuart – though I would wager not a man among them can see the irony!”

“Very true”, Stephen agreed.

MDCXLVIII

**November 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“It is last year all over again”, Stephen sighed. “Fairfax has moved the army to Windsor, cutting across London's roads to the west of England. A pointed reminder of just how much they are in his power.”

“I would not be surprised if some of the more ardent Presbyterians were not considering their positions just now”, Jamie said. “Especially the likes of Waller and Massey; they will surely be among the first targets if the Army does move on Westminster. How is your dear cousin down in London doing, by the way?”

Stephen looked pointedly at him.

“Vale says that if you give Diana any more ideas for their bedchamber”, he said, “he will use his legal acumen to destroy you!” 

“Like there will be enough of him left to do that!” Jamie scoffed.

“He also knows that some of his colleagues have been consulted by members of the army about another purge”, Stephen said. “Perhaps another eleven members are going to be recommended to take an indefinite holiday 'for their own welfare'.”

“This all began with the king marching a lot of soldiers into parliament”, Jamie said. “The last thing we need is a repeat but with the Army inspiring it!”

MDCXLVIII

**November 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“The last of the treaties finishing the German wars have been signed”, Jamie said as he read the news-sheet. “Thirty years of war brought to an end and except for Dutch independence everyone is pretty much back where they started.”

“Not quite”, Stephen said. “There are guarantees that people can follow their own religions in private, and at set times in public. Switzerland too is recognized as independent, real rather than just _de facto_. And Sweden gets a small part of Pomerania which gives it a stranglehold across the Baltic.”

“What about the persistent Charles Louis, still hovering around London in the hope of picking up his uncle's crown?” Jamie asked.

“He gets about half his lands back”, Stephen said, “and retains his vote in the Empire. Bavaria also gets a vote¹; they had had his transferred to them after he was deposed so I suppose that that is fair. And Brandenburg² gets a few lands in the west of the Empire that it had a claim to.”

“The effect will be to weaken the Empire with all those towns and villages decimated by war”, Jamie said. “And to strengthen France, although she is still tied down with her war against the Spanish. Who in turn are tied down with their Portuguese and Catalonian problems, so neither of them can interfere in British affairs.”

“For now”, Stephen said.

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Cromwell has had the king brought over to Hurst Castle in Hampshire”, Stephen said, frowning over his latest letter.

“That is not unexpected”, Jamie said. “I know of the place; one of Henry the Eighth's great castles and guarding the western entrance to the Solent, so only a short crossing to the island. Why is that so surprising?”

Stephen frowned.

“It is not that”, he said. “I can see why he did it; it reminds parliament that while they can talk with the king, the men with guns can snatch him away at a moment's notice and with no warning. No, there is something else.”

“What?” Jamie asked.

“I am not sure”, Stephen said. “But this is not like Cromwell. He always thinks of what he wants to write and says it, sometimes too directly for people's liking but that is him. Yet three times in this letter he has started to write something then scratched it out. I wonder if there is something that he is not telling us?”

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen was to get an answer to that question just two days later, when another letter arrived to the Hall. Luckily Jamie saw it first and was at once suspicious.

“It has been opened”, he said when his lover asked him why. “There are faint wax marks where the seal was reheated; most have been wiped away but you can still make some out. Who is checking our mail?”

“I am rather afraid that I know the answer to that”, Stephen said. “Cromwell.”

“How can you know that?” Jamie asked.

“Because while you noticed the marks, you missed the significance of the seal itself”, Stephen said. “That is the king's personal seal, and it is one Charles Stuart who is writing. Hence why Cromwell has had the letter checked.”

“Why is the king writing to you?” Jamie asked at once.

Stephen looked pointedly at his lover.

“He is not”, he said. “He is writing to _you!”_

Jamie swallowed hard but took the letter and opened it. He read it in silence, his face expressionless.

“Well?” Stephen asked anxiously.

“Not well at all”, Jamie said heavily. “The king 'prays' that I might be agree to meet with him!”

Stephen stared at his lover in shock.

MDCXLVIII

Captain Quicksilver brought news back from Oxford later that same day. The Army had entered the city of London itself. They had not yet made any moves against parliament, but they were only a short march away from so doing if provoked. The screws were, as Jamie rightly observed, again being tightened.

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

It was a few days later. Stephen had written to Cromwell asking if it was permissible for Jamie to attend upon the king some time and was waiting for a response when they learned of the next news. 

“Poor Lenthall”, Jamie said when his lover told him. “He is right; this vote to continue talks with the king 'based upon progress so far' is basically waving a red flag to the army bull. This parliament has sighed its own death-warrant!”

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen stared between the two letters that had come today. He had expected the army to respond to what was basically a provocation on parliament's behalf, but this seemed too extreme.

“Around half of all the members who usually turn up 'secluded'”, he said. “And five of the so-called extremists, including Waller and Massey, arrested. Incredible!”

“It is perhaps what the king should have done in Forty-Two had he have had sense”, Jamie said. “I feel sorry for young Massey in particular; it will be many a year before he and William the Conqueror breathe free air again.”

“Colonel Pride purged all 'undesirable' members from taking their places”, Stephen said as he read on. “He actually stood at the door and turned most of them away, with about two dozen 'troublemakers' being arrested. Most were released except for five, including as you say Waller and Massey.”

“And the key question that everyone will be asking”, Jamie said. “Was Cromwell behind it?”

“He has written to me at the same time”, Stephen said, “and is still at Windsor. He does not mention the Purge but as Ireton was there when it happened, he must surely have known and approved of it.”

“Ireton is more extreme than his father-in-law”, Jamie said. “Perhaps not.”

“He does write his acceptance that you may see the king if you so wish”, Stephen said. “He is to be taken to London, and will be in Winchester on the nineteenth and Farnham on the twentieth. Either might suffice.”

“Nearly two weeks away”, Jamie said. “I have always had a fancy to see the old capital of England; I nearly did one time but got called away. Would you accompany me, friend?”

“As if I could let you go alone!” Stephen scoffed. “Heaven only knows what sort of trouble you might get into!”

“Very true”, Jamie agreed. “And who knows what nobleman's arse I might get into in the next five minutes!”

He looked pointedly at Stephen, who sighed. His lover was..... already at the door, damn him. Why the hell was he just sitting there?

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) Ironically a Holy Roman Empire elector would end up ruling in the British Isles, as the Duchy of Hanover was granted electorate status in 1692 and some 22 years later its then-ruler George Louis became King George the First of Great Britain and Ireland._   
>  _2) Officially Brandenburg-Prussia. Brandenburg, the area around Berlin, had inherited the small kingdom of Prussia from which it was separated by several hundred miles of Poland-Lithuania. It now also got some additional lands in western Germany which lay about the same distance away in the opposite direction. From this modern Germany was eventually created (see also causing two World Wars, murdering at least six million people and failing to pay reparations)._


	11. A Saxon Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> December 1648.   
> Stephen and Jamie travel to Winchester for a short but, as it turns out, rewarding encounter with the doomed king, then return home to await the inevitable. The Army votes to put the king on trial while someone on the estate finds painting hard. And Jamie suggests that his lover might be suffering from a rare disease.

**December 1648**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“I wish that there was some way to make it official, Edward”, Stephen said ruefully as he and Jamie checked their packs for their journey. “But as far as the world is concerned you are merely the offspring of your father who is being maintained here through my brother's largesse. He will of course resign the title to you once you and Thunor have sons and have safely established your lineage.”

The young man nodded.

“It was very good of Lord Aidan to write to me and enclose that legal document”, he said. “I would of course have trusted him – I know how well his family can be trusted from you, sir – but I appreciate it nonetheless.”

“Mr. Chatton and Captain Quicksilver will consult you on all decisions regarding the estate”, Stephen said, “and Mr. Fraser has agreed to come and help if needed.”

“That is most kind of him”, Edward said. “I do hope that he has finally finished redecorating his new home. I know how much he hates that sort of thing.”

“What do you mean, Edward?” Jamie asked.

“I saw him following Mr. Chatton into the house the other day and he was moaning 'please God not again!'”, the boy said. “I had no idea that painting was so hard.”

“Painting is not the thing Fraser finds hard!” Jamie whispered to his lover.

Stephen glared at him. Somehow the bastard was contriving to get worse!

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Donnington, Berkshire, ENGLAND**

Rather than try to reach Winchester in a single day – possible but a stretch – the two men had decided to make a two-day trip breaking it both ways at Newbury, where they could look at the two battlefields which had helped decide the war. Today they stopped on the second field and looked at the remains of Donnington Castle, which had withstood eighteen months of besieging before the king, having lost everywhere else, had ordered its surrender.

“It is a pity that we have to demolish such great buildings”, Jamie said, looking at the twin-towered gatehouse, all that remained of the once impressive castle. “But I suppose you can hardly leave deadly weapons around for someone to turn on you in future.”

“They are weapons of the past, though”, Stephen pointed out. “Only the huge fortresses like Hull and Plymouth were able to stand for any length of time against modern cannons. A small place like this could have been spared.”

They looked around the area for a while before continuing into the town, where they found a decent coaching-inn for the night.

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Winchester, Hampshire, ENGLAND**

Stephen noted that as they neared the old Anglo-Saxon capital his lover was becoming unusually silent. It was the eighteenth and the king would be there the next day, seeing them either then or early on the twentieth. A small and arguably bad part of the nobleman almost hoped that some over-officious guard would try something during their visit; if he did then that fellow would be on the next ship out to the Barbadoes. Cromwell had made clear in his last letter that they had his permission and there had better not be any trouble, or else!

In the event things moved more smoothly and rather more quickly than either man could have expected. On arriving at the house where the king was staying the following day, they were informed that he did indeed wish to see them, but that they were only to be allowed a few minutes in his company and that they would be watched all the time.

“Presumably in case one of us tries to slip him into a pocket when no-one is looking!” Jamie quipped to Stephen as they walked up the stairs. One of the soldiers accompanying them coughed pointedly but they ignored him.

They had but a moment's wait in a small ante-room before they were shown in. This was clearly the main reception room of the house's owner, and the king was waiting for them. Two of the soldiers followed them into the room to join the two already there.

Stephen's first impression of the king was that, close-up, he was even shorter than he remembered. His second impression was that despite the fellow's many travails – travails that, a small voice told him, would likely soon be at an end – he was definitely royalty. There was an indefinable quality about him that marked him out even more than his fine clothes.

Both men bowed.

“I will keep this brief”, the king said shortly, “as we have but little time. Mr, Buchanan, some years back you and the son of my Lord Amerike here saved my eldest son from a beating. I have written to Mr. Fairfax and Mr. Cromwell, and they have agreed that I may see you before..... I reach London.”

They both knew full well as to what he had been about to say there. The king reached over to the table and picked up two small silken bags, which he handed to the two men. One of the soldiers behind him stepped forward as if to protest but Jamie just looked at him, and the fellow shuddered before stepping quickly back.

“There is no secret message or anything inside them, boys”, the king smiled sourly. “Your colonel was here earlier when I filled them up, and he has the right to check them before leaving if he so wishes. Although given that Mr. Cromwell is related to Lord Amerike here, that might be unwise – unless he has an overriding desire to feel the Caribbean sun for the rest of his life!”

He nodded to the two gentlemen, who bowed again.

“I thank you for coming all this way to see me”, he said. “We shall not meet again, but I would ask to to take one other thing from this visit. We Stuarts have our failings but we never forget those who stand by us in our hour of need. My son is forever in your debt, gentlemen, and God willing, one day he will be in a position to pay that debt in full.”

He stepped back, indicating that the meeting was over.

MDCXLVIII

The king's gift to both Jamie and Luke turned out to be twelve small but exquisitely cut gemstones each, which Stephen knew would greatly assist both his son with his growing family and his lover, who he knew fretted about money despite having his small income from his one estate. Now he was much better set, and they could ride home knowing that they had done their duty.

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Christmas Day”, Jamie said with a sigh. “The king is now at Windsor. How he must hate that; none of his friends yet a constant reminder of what he once had. A hollow glory.”

“They say that this will be a bad winter, on top of our poor summer”, Stephen said. “I am glad that we got that extra grain into the granaries before the snows blocked all the roads.”

“And nearly blocked us as well”, Jamie said. It had started snowing as they had been looking over the battlefield of the first battle of Newbury, and they had had hard work to make it over the Berkshire Downs to the relative safety of the Thames Valley. You are worried about something, my love.”

“I am thinking of what the king said”, Stephen admitted. “About not seeing either of us ever again.”

“You are not planning a trip to London, surely?” his lover asked, surprised. “Not in these conditions?”

“I worry that I may be asked to”, Stephen said, “in which case I would welcome more snow. A month's worth of the stuff would be ideal.”

Jamie looked at him in confusion.

“In his last letter Cromwell said that he wanted to deal with the king as openly and legally as possible”, Stephen said. “That means a trial. You know human nature as much as if not better than I; many men will either refuse to serve or find some reason to absent themselves, such as a timely illness.”

“You think that Cromwell might ask you”, Jamie said. “Could you not too come down with an illness? Say 'Rampant Sex Maniac Of A Lover-itis?”

Stephen shook his head at him.

“I have been suffering from that for years!” he smiled.

“And are set to suffer again tonight!” Jamie grinned.

Stephen just sighed. Honestly, his lover was.... already out of the door, damn him!

MDCXLVIII

**December 1648**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Bruce came back from Oxford today”, Stephen told Jamie as they lay together after the nobleman's very thorough pre-dinner fucking. Thankfully Stephen did not have to be anywhere for the rest of today, which was just as well. Even the idea of walking was painful!

“Any news?” the soldier asked, smirking far too loudly even for him.

“Only that the Army has definitely decided to try the king”, Stephen sighed. “We all expected as much, but now it is official. And the Thames is frozen right through Oxford, which means that it is likely frozen down in London too.”

“I remember you saying how Luke always wanted to go to one of the famous Frost Fairs they held there”, Jamie said. 

Stephen nodded.

“It seems so long ago”, he said, “but the last one was before he knew that I was his father, way back in Thirty-Five. It should be strange if they get one this winter¹ but then I suppose a little thing like the execution of a country's monarch should not stand in the way of people enjoying themselves.”

“Especially when you have a bunch of killjoys in charge who want to ban fun things like Christmas!” Jamie pointed out.

“Meanwhile everything moves to an end”, Stephen said, “and a bloody one for the king. But then what? Who runs the country thereafter – the Army?”

“Only God knows that”, James said sententiously.

“Then let us hope that He has remembered to tell Cromwell”, Stephen said firmly, “or we shall all be in the you-know-what!”

MDCXLVIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) There was one, the fourth of ten that century. It was not just the colder temperatures but also the non-embanked (and therefore slower) river plus the lone bridge that enabled the river to freeze over so often._


	12. Cruel Necessity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> January 1649.   
> Cruel necessity. What a certain Oliver Cromwell called the trial and execution of Charles Stuart, that Man of Blood.  
> The English Monarchy ceases to exist.

**January 1649**   
**Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“The word you were looking for is supine, Ste.”

Stephen sighed as he lay with his lover. Normally the Twelve Days of Christmas would be a prolonged sex-fest which would leave him limping some way into January, but given what was happening down in London neither man had felt in the mood. Though they were not supporters of the king both felt that what was happening was wrong, yet both also saw that it was inevitable.

“This Rump Parliament was always going to do what the army told it”, Jamie went on, “up to and including trying the king. The only way they can justify that is to themselves assume his powers so that the crime of treason is against them, one for which he can be found guilty. Which we all know he will be.”

“He only has himself to blame”, Stephen sighed. “He once said that he would be a Glorious King or a Patient Martyr. He seems to think that by becoming the latter he can somehow save the Monarchy. Yet his son can never be accepted as king once he is gone or at least not while people remember the mess that his father made of everything.”

“Maybe later, when people have moved on”, Jamie suggested. “People's memories are short in my experience; give them a few years and the king will be remembered more kindly, especially if parliament and the Army do not run the country well.”

Stephen pulled his lover closer and sighed. On cold winter days like today and especially the way things were just now, he could happily stay in bed all day with his hunky Winter Soldier, and let the world do its own thing for a time. Jamie responded by wrapping his arms around his lover and they both lay there, wondering how things would develop in this maddest of mad worlds.

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“The House of Lords has refused to consider the Commons's demands for a trail”, Stephen told his lover the following day. “I almost wish that we were there to see history being done close to, but that would be unwise.”

“Because if people saw you there but not at the trial itself, they would assume that you had refused a request to serve”, Jamie guessed. “Whereas if you stay in the country then no-one will really notice; what is one absence among so many? Unless Cromwell asks you to come down?”

“I hope that he will not do that”, Stephen said. “I do not think that he would; as you say we are all but related and he understands about.... things.”

“You mean your strange tendency to wave your hand about like that?” Jamie asked with a smile. His lover scowled at him.

“You know what I mean!” he said crossly. “And this daft move of the Lords will have less than zero effect; the army will either wave their guns in their direction or tell the Commons to just ignore them. They may have been the upper chamber and at least the equal of those elected when this conflict started, but for all that Cromwell dislikes this democracy thing it is the Commons who are the real power now.”

“That is because they have been purged so that only the army's supporters are left”, Jamie said. “What is Cromwell going to do; run the country with a Commons chamber at one-quarter strength? That cannot hold.”

“A little over seven years back that they beheaded poor Strafford”, Stephen sighed, “yet it seems more like seventy. Then we had Pym and Hampden guiding parliament, looking for a settlement with the king.”

“We both know that there could never have been any settlement with this king”, Jamie said shortly. “And very soon he will face the consequences of that!”

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Jamie looked anxiously at his lover.

“A letter from Cromwell?” he asked.

Stephen nodded.

“Thankfully he has not asked for me”, he said, noting as he said it how the soldier sighed with relief. “He says that the Rump has decided that it is the supreme power in the land now, and can ignore the Lords in voting for the king's trial. He expects many of those called to decline and says that he would not compel any man to serve against his conscience, but knowing how people talk he will not even ask me.”

“Because knowing your connection, many will be watching to see if he does just that”, Jamie said, nodding. “Clever. And damnably considerate.”

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Around sixty”, Stephen told Jamie a few days later. “Cromwell summonsed over a hundred and thirty men to London as commissioners to sit in judgement on the king, but barely half that number turned up. Some conveniently ill, others openly refusing.”

“What about the chief judge?” Jamie asked.

“St. John declined the post as we might have expected”, Stephen said. “Cromwell has chosen John Bradshaw¹, the chief justice of the Chester and North Wales circuit. I know little of the fellow, but that he had to reach so far down the pecking order of the judiciary shows how many above him must have refused the 'honour'.”

“I think you meant to say 'the poisoned chalice'”, Jamie said dourly. “He will go down in history as the man who tried a king, whether legally or no. One has to admire him for taking on the post, I suppose. I hope that he is well prepared, for his own sake.”

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

As well as making sure that he and Edward visited all the estate churches regularly and made themselves available to their workers for any problems that they might have, Stephen also had Chatton keep an eye on any potential problems. His now chief steward, in between living with and regularly exhausting his retired lover Fraser in the gatehouse, did a very good job and had recently alerted the nobleman to something untoward down in Hampton, which was why Stephen had rearranged his schedule to take in St. Mary's earlier than expected. Hence no-one thought it that unusual when Lord Amerike stood to read the lesson that day. 

At first.

“I will keep this short”, Stephen said, “because short lessons are more memorable. Today's lesson is from the Book of John, chapter three, verse fifteen. 'Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.'”

He paused and looked around the assembled throng, his eyes alighting particularly on Dionysus Leamington, an outspoken Puritan who, he knew, was always causing trouble of one sort or the other. And more recently of the other.

“It has come to my attention”, Stephen said, still eyeing the miscreant who was trying to hide behind the fellow in front of him, “that _someone_ has been targeting a worker on this estate because of his following the Old Faith. Despite his target following the law, he has still been attacked and derided by this _someone_ , to the point where he fears for his safety while doing the job that I require of him. I will take this opportunity, therefore, to remind you all that while I am a liberal master I do have powers to dismiss such a perpetrator out of hand, and if said _someone_ does not mend his ways very soon – as in before he leaves this church – then that _someone_ will find himself out of employment. And out of his house!”

He took a deep breath.

“We are all brothers under the skin”, he said. “Even you, Mr. Leamington, painful though it is to consider such a thing. Know now that winter or no winter, if you do not refrain from your actions then I will be instructing Captain Quicksilver to have you removed from the area with immediate effect. My people, may the Good Lord watch over you all this cold season – _because I know that I will!”_

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“I cannot believe this day and age”, Jamie said. “The first day of the king's trial was only yesterday, yet already there is an Oxford news-sheet covering it.”

“The wonders of modern technology!” Stephen smiled. “What happened?”

“He refused to recognize the authority of the court, predictably enough”, the soldier said. “There was a dramatic moment when John Cook² was reading out the charges and the king expressed his annoyance by tapping him with his cane. The silver tip broke off and the king actually had to pick it up for himself, as no-one else would.”

“A forcible reminder of his position”, Stephen said. “But he has not taken the hint these past two decades, so I doubt that he will at this late stage. Let us hope that this farce draws to an end soon.”

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

“Clever”, Stephen muttered as he read the latest news-sheet from Oxford, again only a day behind events in London.

“What?” Jamie asked.

“You know how Cromwell is only doing this so he can make the king's execution seem legal and above board?” Stephen said. “Well, his refusal to enter a plea meant that technically the court could not begin to hear witnesses. So they have ruled that to be obstructionism and that they can hear them all in private – which means of course that he cannot question them.”

“Not that it would have made any difference”, Jamie sighed.

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

The twenty-eighth. Almost the end of the month. Almost the end of the reign.

“Guilty”, Stephen said heavily. “Sentence to be carried out on Saturday, two days hence.”

Jamie said nothing and continued to stare out into the frozen landscape outside. It seemed to match both men's – and the country's – mood.

MDCXLIX

**January 1649**  
 **Stalwarton, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND**

Saturday, January the thirtieth. As he rode around the estate Stephen noted a curious lethargy about the workers, as if they could not believe what they all knew would be happening in London that day. They were executing the King of England!

It had been snowing all night but that morning was clear, and as he and Jamie rode back to the Hall along the riverside everything seemed to be in order. Their advent startled a group of crows who had been pecking away in the snow and they soared into the air, cawing in annoyance.

“A murder of crows”, Jamie muttered. “Appropriate.”

They both rode on in silence. After two civil wars, England was a very different country indeed³.

MDCXLIX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _1) John Bradshaw (b. 1602). He wore armour and a bullet-proof hat during the trial. He died in 1659 shortly before the Restoration and was perhaps fortunate in that; his was one of three bodies, along with those of Ireton and Cromwell, to be disinterred on Charles the Second's return and be 'tried' before being hung at Tyburn (near modern Marble Arch) as common traitors._   
>  _2) John Cook (b. 1602), the Solicitor General. He was one of a small number excluded from the general indemnity on the Restoration; he had fled abroad but was caught and returned to England, where he was tried and executed._   
>  _3) The best figures we have are that around 50,000 Royalists and 34,000 parliamentarians were killed in the three conflicts that comprised the Civil Wars (1642-1651), and a further 120,000 people died from war-related diseases around half of whom were civilians. That may not sound much, but in percentage terms it was a greater loss of life to the country than the two world wars combined!_


End file.
